For now, Gregg Williams is defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams. Following his hearing with NFL officials Monday in the wake of bounty allegations, how long he remains an active part of the coaching staff is in question.

Expect a decision on Williams when NFL owners meet March 25-28 in West Palm Beach, Fla., according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune and other media outlets.

It's possible—some reports says likely—Williams will be suspended for his part in offering perks for players to injure opponents. The league is looking into his actions while serving with the New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans. And his punishment could be lengthy.

There were no public comments after Monday's meeting from Williams or the NFL. It was noted that commissioner Roger Goodell was not in at the hearing, which was with league security people and other parties.

For their part, the Rams took a stance of silence in the matter, issuing a statement that it would have nothing to say.

"Coach Williams has shown contrition for his actions and continues to cooperate with the NFL in this investigation," Kevin Demoff, the Rams' executive vice president for football operations, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Out of respect for the NFL's ongoing process, we will refrain from commenting until the league has come to a final decision on all aspects of this matter."

Williams apologized last week as word of the bounty schemes circulated. The NFL has said Williams ran the plan and sometimes put money into it, cash that was used to reward players for different levels of injuring opponents. The most recent instance was during his tenure as Saints defensive coordinator from 2009-11.

Williams also was linked to a bounty system while working for Fisher during their time with the Titans franchise. That scheme continued when Williams moved to the Buffalo Bills, where he was coach from 2001 to 2003.

"The team completely understands the ramifications, is taking the matter very seriously and has cooperated fully with the league," a Saints official told the Associated Press. "Mr. Benson is in constant contact with (commissioner) Roger Goodell and his office, yet he remains steadfast in his support of Mickey and Sean, and his focus is on the upcoming free agency, making the team better and hosting the Super Bowl. ... We have a lot of positive things on our plate that we have to get working on."

The NFL's report said the Saints maintained a bounty pool of up to $50,000 the last three seasons. Payoffs were made for inflicting game-ending injuries on targeted players, including quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. "Knockouts," in which a player was knocked out of the game, were worth $1,500 and "cart-offs," in which players had to be helped off the field, were worth $1,000. Payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Saints released the following statement from Loomis and Payton:

"We acknowledge that the violations disclosed by the NFL during their investigation of our club happened under our watch. We take full responsibility.

"This has brought undue hardship on Mr. Benson, who had nothing to do with this activity. He has been nothing but supportive and for that we both apologize to him.

"These are serious violations and we understand the negative impact it has had on our game. Both of us have made it clear within our organization that this will never happen again, and make that same promise to the NFL and most importantly to all of our fans."

Although the NFL has said Payton was not a direct participant in the bounty scheme, the Times-Picayune reported, it appears a suspension of multiple games and a six-figure fine are likely for Payton.

All payouts for specific performances in a game, including interceptions or causing fumbles, are against NFL rules. The NFL also warns teams against such practices before each season.

The NFL said its findings in its probe of the Saints were corroborated by multiple, independent sources, and the pool amounts peaked in 2009, the year the Saints won the Super Bowl.

While Bills players including Coy Wire talked about bounty pay during Williams' tenure, former linebacker Eddie Robinson rejected the notion.

"I've never heard Williams say, 'Go out there and hurt somebody,' and I don't want him to get that kind of rap," Robinson told the Buffalo News.

From SI:

Redskins players have said no such scheme was in place while they were coached by him.

"It started out with who could get the most interceptions, who could get the biggest hit, or who could get the sacks, and we took it into games," former Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot told Washington radio station WJFK. "Gregg never said, 'Take out this player or take out this player.'

"But I'm sorry, back when I played football we actually used to hit people. It was legal to go out and hit people. We wanted to be the most physical team and we wanted to inflict pain but in no way possible did we ever want to go out there and end anybody's career or take somebody truly out of the game. ... Gregg never put in a dime."